I also saw the Wilson production of Woyzeck at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2002. Kalb displays a fundamental misunderstanding of Wilson's and Büchner's project when he complains that they have created a Woyzeck who is too "formally conceived" to be sympathetic. Both Wilson and Büchner are working closer to the tradition of Gordon Craig's Übermarionette (a concept that will be discussed in more detail later in this paper) or German Tanztheater than realist, method-acted sitting-room dramas and have, therefore, of course created characters developed through formal design techniques and writing techniques intended not to produce a one-dimensional feeling of sympathy in an audience but rather designed to create a portrayal of general universal emotion. Understanding the traditions in which Wilson and Büchner are working allows an audience member or reviewer to fully appreciate their mastery, or offer an informed and relevant critique. A review of this same production by Jon Pareles for the New York Times comes closer to my interpretation. Pareles found Woyzeck to be one of the most sympathetic characters ever created by Wilson and credits the lucky collaboration with Waits and Brennen. Pareles wrote, [...] as always in a Wilson production, there are moments of eerie perfection, among them a dance hall scene that has the performers slanting and twitching to a subliminal beat. Yet there's more to this Woyzeck than eye candy. Between the warped yet homey songs and Mr. Spottag's [the actor playing Woyzeck] troubled deadpan, Woyzeck becomes more than a cipher. In a perverse world, he's still oddly human. (Pareles)
In 2006 the Gate Theater of London brought Woyzeck to St. Ann's Warehouse in New York. Ben Brantley reviewed the production which was adapted and directed by Daniel Kramer. The production used music by Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, and Beethoven throughout as background music but was staged as a period piece set in the 1800s. Brantley praised the director's use of staging to create "painterly images that are chilling to the point of frostbite" and felt the adaptation did a good job of capturing the essence of the original (Brantley). However, Brantley felt the production lacked punch, partly due to the motley collection of different acting styles used by the performers and also due to the labored style of the adaptation. Brantley wrote, "It's like reading a great poem that has been annotated with brightly underlined passages and enthusiastic marginal notes [...] The sting of the open wound of the play's agonized nihilism is partly anesthetized by its being so painstakingly explained to us" (Brantley).
This collection of reviews illustrates the myriad of interpretations to which Woyzeck has been subjected over the past century. The wide range of versions is likely due to the fragmentary and unfinished nature of the piece, which attracts many directors. However, Woyzeck continues to command attention because of the strength of Büchner's writing. Ahead of its time, Woyzeck speaks to the modern sensibility of an increasingly fragmented life. This AR Woyzeck project does not attempt to present itself as the definitive version of Büchner's original, rather I hope this project will contribute yet another piece to the collage that is Woyzeck that has been growing over the past century.
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